Mr. Liberation Theology
The house of sand you built at last.
Tell me, friend, do you think it will withstand a world so vast?
You wrecked sandcastles just to build signs seeking justice.
Children sleep out in the cold.
Oh heavens watching above, is this justice?
The blanket the child holds onto is an oasis.
Its warmth mimics that of a home so far away.
The desert was his home; a long-forgotten friend.
Every wind feeds him the false promise of freedom.
What do they know?
What do they know of the sun’s kiran* when mother would feed us šāy.*
USA!
Is that how they play?
The warplanes outnumber the birds.
Children close your eyes, they are fighting for pay.
You can not hide in this world.
You are solely bare, exposed, naked even!
What man was born with cloth? Point me to him and then I will abandon my home.
And though you can drink your coffee
So black, filling up the glass
That same coffee will stare you back.
Black is the oil you pull from a land so boundless.
Who is brave enough to claim the desert as his own?
You can not rule. You fool!
Many tried and failed to seize this land.
For centuries it stands, unbroken by your nuclear adornments.
For the Desert is a lion, no simple house cat.
He who dares to challenge shall be left broken in the end.
The pools of oil have all dried up;
Your thirst can never be quenched.
* Kiran: ray; šāy: thick creamy top layer on boiled milk
By Suprya Sarkar, age 16, originally from Bangladesh, now lives in Connecticut. She adds:
“What we call casual poetry—verses written on kitchen napkins, often forgotten—reminds us that poems are a natural part of human expression… or at least, they should be. My hope is to capture the antagonistic nature of humanity in the 21st century. How does one capture such corruption on paper? The ethics of industries and modern work culture are major topics of debate. What good is individualism if it leads to the downfall of one’s well-being? Each poem is a cry from humanity. The pieces explore the lives of various people and their environments. Both a billionaire oil company CEO and a burned-out office worker have a connection to their environments. My hope is to preserve the fleeting present. Each poem follows how industrial, political, and economic changes have influenced humanity as a whole. The poems are meant to bring attention to the peculiarities… or struggles of various people.”